Prominent home loan lender Deewan Housing Finance Ltd, or DHFL, has been caught in a fictitious lending scandal. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has booked the lending company and its associates for allegedly creating 2.60 lakh fake home loan accounts. As per officials, these fictitious home loan accounts were created to reap the benefits of the interest subsidy offered under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY).
DHFL has already been dealing with a crisis and this new case has led to a major blow. The CBI, on March 24, 2021, filed a case against Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhwan in connection with the financial conspiracy. The irregularities in the accounts were pointed out in a report generated by auditor Grant Thornton.
As per the reports, the promoters of the company, i.e. Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhwan, started a fake DHFL branch in Bandra, Mumbai. Between 2009 and 2019, a total of 2.60 lakh fake accounts were created and registered at this non-existent Bandra branch. The data entered into the system was that of individuals who have already repaid their loans. The fictitiously listed accounts amount to a whopping total of Rs. 14,096 cr.
The FIR states that a total of Rs. 11,755.79 cr was deposited or routed to different kinds of fictitious firms that were termed as Bandra Book Firms. The ultimate idea behind opening these accounts was to unfairly obtain interest subsidies under the PMAY scheme from the National Housing Bank. As per current reports, DHFL has received a total of Rs. 539.4 cr from 88,651 cases until December 2018, and was slated to receive another Rs. 1,347.8 cr from the government.
At present, CBI is conducting further investigation into the case and a verdict is pending.
What is the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?
The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY) is a central government scheme to aid the economically weaker sections of the society and make housing affordable for them. With the mission of providing “Housing For All’, the scheme was introduced in October 2015 and is currently managed by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. It aims to construct 20 million houses across the nation by the year 2022.
Which Segment Does the PMAY Scheme Target?
As mentioned above, the PMAY scheme essentially targets the economically weaker sections of society. It offers a home loan subsidy to individuals belonging to the lower- and middle-income groups to purchase and construct homes. The credit-linked interest subsidy is applied upfront on the principal outstanding. However, individuals applying for this subsidy must meet the income criteria as per the different categories listed under the scheme. The availability and interest subsidy offered through this scheme are also subject to the category one falls under.
Eligibility for PMAY scheme
An individual must meet the listed eligibility criteria when applying for the PMAY scheme. These include:
- The beneficiary or his family members must not own a pucca house in their respective names in any part of India.
- Married couples can avail the subsidy together in joint ownership for a single subsidy.
- The beneficiary and his family should not have availed any other housing subsidy scheme or any other benefits offered under the PMAY scheme.
Eligibility as per Category
The income-based categorisation of beneficiaries under the PMAY scheme is:
| Category | Total annual income of family |
| Economically Weaker Section | ₹3 lakh |
| Low-Income Group | ₹3-6 lakh |
| Middle-Income Group I | ₹6-12 lakh |
| Middle-Income Group II | ₹6-12 lakh |
| Women | EWS and LIG categories |
| Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Class | – |
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